Todd Akin campaign disputes 'disappearing TV ads' story

St. Louis, MO (KSDK) - Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Todd Akin is firing back against a story on NewsChannel 5 saying his campaign ads are disappearing from Missouri airwaves.

KOMU-TV, the NBC affiliate in Columbia, said Akin's latest wave of political ads was pulled because he failed to pay for them. The station's policy is to remove any political ads that not paid in full.

The Akin campaign calls the story "misleading" and "factually wrong."

"Our television buyers have paid for every ad that has aired and even bought more ad time today," said Perry Akin, Todd Akin's campaign manager. "A political campaign, like an advertiser, makes constant decisions about where and when we want our ads to air. This is standard practice in campaigns across the country."

The campaign said they still have ads going across the state, but will no longer be doing any business with KOMU-TV.

At NewsChannel 5, Akin's campaign has stopped buying commercial time. His last ad aired on Wednesday, September 5.

The Akin campaign said it has exceeded fundraising goals, pulling in more than $400,000 in online donations in the last 20 days.

Perry Akin's statement can be found in its entirety below:

"This story is simply false. Our television buyers have paid for every ad that has aired and even bought more ad time today. A political campaign, like an advertiser, makes constant decisions about where and when we want our ads to air. This is standard practice in campaigns across the country. Unfortunately, a particular television station decided to twist the facts and created a story that is simply untrue. We are still on the air across Missouri. However, we will not be doing any more business with KOMU-TV because they have lied.

"KOMU should be ashamed for publishing a false story when they know what the truth is. No ad was pulled because no ad ever airs without being paid for. Ads are only ever "pulled" from the air for legal or ethical reasons, and this ad is 100% accurate regarding Claire McCaskill's record.

"We are exceeding our fundraising goals and have raised over $400,000 online alone in the last 20 days.

KOMU Sales Manager Tom Duggan told NewsChannel 5 he believes the Akin campaign is fully aware of the "no pay, no air" policy at KOMU. The balance of the payment was made September 7, but 10 ads were dropped last week for insufficient payment.